Bruce Power forms partnership with Northern Ontario School of Medicine

A new partnership between Bruce Power and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) should pay dividends for all involved including residents of Grey-Bruce.

Dr. Douglas Boreham, manager of the Integration Department at Bruce Power, has recently been appointed as Division Head of Medical Sciences at NOSM and is the new Bruce Power Chair in Radiation and Health. In his role, Dr. Boreham will help recruit physicians to the Grey-Bruce area and support medical education for local and aboriginal students.

“Bruce Power and NOSM are committed to meeting the health needs of the people of Northern Ontario while also conducting research in areas important to Bruce Power, its regulators and stakeholders,” Boreham said.

NOSM is the first new medical school in Canada in over 30 years and is located at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury.

“As Canada’s newest medical school, we recognize the importance of our partnership with Bruce Power as a significant step for the school in advancing our research agenda,” said Dr. William McCready, Acting Dean of NOSM. “We look forward to having Dr. Boreham bring his considerable research experience to NOSM and helping to fulfil our mission of ‘Innovative education and research for a healthier north.’”

The Chair will provide scientific oversight and direction for research associated with environmental and human impacts of the nuclear power industry. This partnership will foster better educational outreach in radiation and health and build a strong university network of expertise to support the future scientific and health needs of Bruce Power, NOSM and Ontario.

“This new partnership will support research and education of high-quality physicians and health professionals to provide health care in underserviced areas of Ontario including the special needs of aboriginal and francophone communities,” said Frank Saunders, Bruce Power’s Vice President of Nuclear Oversight and Regulatory Affairs.

Dr. Boreham was previously a Professor in the Department of Radiation and Applied Radiation Sciences at McMaster University. Originally from the Elliot Lake area, he holds an undergraduate degree from Laurentian University and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Ottawa. His research interests lie in the effects of low dose radiation on humans and the environment and he has published more than 70 scientific research manuscripts, won four major teaching awards and lectured about radiation around the world. Dr. Boreham was the 2012 Canadian representative for the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

About Bruce Power

Bruce Power operates one of the world’s largest nuclear sites and is the source of roughly 25 per cent of Ontario’s electricity. The company’s site in Tiverton, Ontario is home to eight CANDU reactors, each one capable of generating enough low-cost, reliable, safe and clean electricity to meet the annual needs of a city the size of Ottawa. Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an all-Canadian partnership among TransCanada, Cameco, Borealis Infrastructure Management (a division of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) as well as the Power Workers’ Union and the Society of Energy Professionals. A majority of Bruce Power’s 4,000 employees are also owners in the business.